Refrigerating device



Jan. 12 1926. 1,569,026

C. A. PETERSON REFRIGERATING DEVICE Filed April 14, 1919 other` Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

, UNITED CHARLES A. PETEBSON, OF CHICAGO ILLINOIS.

REFRIGERATING DEVICE.

Application filed April 14, 1919. SerialNo. 239367.

To (ZZ whom it may cmccm:

Be it known that I, CHARLns A. PErERsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ot Illinois. have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Refrigerating Devices ot which the following is a specification. e

This iuvention relates to refrigerating devices and has for its object to provide a new and improved device of this description. In the ordinary house refrigerator the ice is placed in one compartment and the materials or food to he cooled in placed in anr compartment. The ice gradually melts and the water thus produced is drained away 'without being used. One of the obiects of my invention is to utilize this water :formed by the melting of the ice to assist in cooling the refrigerator and the material therein- The invention isillustrated in the drawingsiwherein .Fig. l is a view in sectio-n showing one form of refrigerator embodying my invention;

Fig. 2is a 'plan view of the water using devi ce with the cover removed;

- 3 for thematerial to be cooled.

i ;full of the Fig. `3is a cross section through the water.

using device. i Like numerals refer to out the several figures( Referring now to the drawings I have like parts throughing a chamber 2 for the ice and a chamber Located in the` chamber 3' or at some point where its cooling efl`ect can be utilized in cooling chamber 3 is a water using `device consisting of a tank 4, having a removable cover 5. Some means is provided for conducting the water produced by the melting of the ice in chamber 2 into the receptacle 4 as for example by means of the drip pipe placed to cause the water to enter the funnel 7 connected-with the cover 5. tank ris a receptaole' or a liquid receiver 8. Some means is provided for automatically discharging the liquid from this liquid receiver into the receptacle at intervals sothat after the-liquid receiver is full or partially cold water produced by the melt- 'ing ice, this water will be automatically disceptacle 4:at the points lo and 11. The

Mounted in the ceptacle, or liquid receiving `device S is arranged so as to be unbalanced when containing a predetermined amount of liquid. This is done by making it eccentric with relation to the rod 9. The portion to the right of the rod and iron as shown in Fig. 3 is made heavier so as to unbalance the other portion, and is made also to engage the wall of the tank 4: as illustrated. It will thus be seen that when a predetermined amount of water has been discharged into the liquid receiver,

'this unbalanccd condition willcause it to tip, the rod 9 rotating about its pivotal points, and thus discharge the water. If the water is discharged the counter-weighted 'portion returns the liquicl receiver 8 to its normal position. The tipping movement of: the liquid receiver 8 is limited by the pin 8 (see Fig. 3). The tank 4 is provided with a discharge pipe 13 which is in the form of a siphon having the end 14 bent as indicated. This dscharge pipe leads to any desired point of discharge.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a sectional View of the looped portion of the discharge pipe 13. Since the ice of necessity melts slowly only asmall quantity of water enters the tank 4 at one time and hence, were it not for the collecting receptacle 8, the level of the. water would be only raised by very small increments, and in some instanc'es,

A y almost imperceptible. shown one form of refrgerator 1, contani In referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that mitted to simply enter the tank 4 as the ice melts, the water, when it reaches the level of the lower inner face of the loop part of the discharge pipe indicated at 15 would then be raisedsuch a small amount that it would simplyleak over without filling the pipe 13, and there would be no siphon efi'ect. Under these conditions the water inthe tank 4 would not be discharged except inthis small leaking manner and would` become warm, and its cooling effect destroyed. By collectingthe water in the receptacle 8 until a sufiicient amount is collected therein, and then discharging it into the tank l it will be seen that when the level of the water reaches the bottom` of the inner face of the bend of the discharge pipo as shown at 15 there will then be discharged into the tank` at one time a suflicient quan- `tity of water to raise the level an amount sufiicient to fill the discharge pipe and 'cause the* si phon action of said discharge the tank, the'siphon action Will again occur )ipe, so as to dscharge all of the water cown to the level of the mouth of the part of said pipe. i

It will thus be seen that by this means the cold water may be collected in the tank i, its cooling efi'ect utilized and then when its cooling eiect ceases or is reduced the water can then be quickly discharged so that a continued cooling effect from the water due to the nelting of the ice in-ay be Secured.

I have described in detail a particular Construction V enbodying the invention but it is of course evident that the parts maybe varied in many particulars Without departing froni the spirit of the invention as set forth in the clains hereto appended, and I tlerefore do not limit myself to the par' ticular Construction shown.

The use and operation of as follows:

As the ice in the refrigerator nelts, the cold Water passes down into the receptacle or liquid receiver 8. When a suflicient amount of water collects in said receptacle an unbalanced condition is produced and the receptacle is tipped to discharge the water into the tank l. This process continues until the water in the tank reaches a predetermined level. This cold water produced by the inelting of the ice is thus retained in the tank 4 and assists in cooling the refrigerator. The parts may be so arranged and adjusted that when the water in the tank e war-nis up so as not to be effective in helping to cool the refrigerator this water will then be discharged through the pipe 13.

This result is secured in the Construction ny invention are xillustrated by collecting the water in the receptacle 8 and then discharging it into the tank. hen the level of the water in the tank reachesapproximately the lower portion of the loop of the discharge pipe, that is, the point 15, and then the receptacle 8' is filled until it becomes unbalanced and tips so as to discharge this collectedwater into the tank, the level of the water is then raised so as to cause a siphon action which discharges the Water froni the tank. The

.cold water is then again collected and when the level reaches a predetermined point and the receptacle S discharges its water 'into and the water be :Withdrawn from the tank. It will 'thus :be s'eenthat the cold water can be retained 'inthe tank 4: any desired' length of time while it is effective in cooling the refrgerator, and can then be discharged to make Way' for new cold Water, and thus the cooling eflect of the cold'water, due to- I the neltng of .the ice, may be utilized instead of being thrown away. v

,I have found that with a device of this kind niuchless ice is necessary to keep the refrigerator cool and the temperature of the ref'gerator may also be kept lower since the water produced by the melting ice has a temperature of 32 Fahrenheit. The keeping of the temperature in the ice box lower in addition to increasing the efi'iciency ,of the refrigerator and the ice therein also decreases the rapidity of the inelting of the ice and again increases its efiiciency, the cold water thus reacting on the ice for this purraised to such a temperaturethat the small additions oi water produced by the melting of the ice would be at once heated up by the larger body, of warner water, and thus no proper cooling efiect could be attained.

i th ny device, however, it Wlll be seen L that the maximum cooling effect of the water can be Secured.

It will furtherb'e seen that by means of this Construction the water slowly produced V by the nelting of the ice is firstdischarged into thereceptacle 8 and is then internittently 'discharged into the tank,` and that the water is then intermittently discharged from ,the tank, the latter discha'rges being separated by longer intel-Vals of'tine than the internittent discharge of the Water into the tank. Since the Water is thus slowly produced by the nelting of the ice it will be seen that it is collected in a receptacle of comparatively small size when it is at its lowest temperature and kept separate for a time `tron the remaining water of the tank, al-

though being located inside of the tank.

'water in the water collecting device is at 'its lowest temperature, and it further utilizes it'at this loW temperature to cool the air above the body of water in the tank 4, this cooling efi'ect being produced While the water is collecting and between the internediate discharges of the water into the nain body of water in the tank 4:'. Thetank i is nade of soine suitable heat' conducting material, such as metal.

'I claim 1.A refrigerating device conprising a receptacle, an ice chanber in said receptacle for containingthe ice to be used for cooling purposes, a cooling chainber in the receptacle, atank beneath said ice chamber and located 'in said cooling chanber, said tank having all its sides exposedso as to act as cooling surfaces for said cooling chamber, a. communication from the 'bottom of said ice chainber to said tank through which the water produced by the gradual Ineltin of the ice 'passes into said'tank, a liqui receiver movably mounted in said tank into which said water is received, said liquicl receiVer being comparatvely small so that the small quantity of 'Water which it holds Will remain at a comparatvely lOW temperature so as to act in cooling the cooling chamber, means for ntei'nittently and automatically discharging the Water from said liquid receivei' into said tank Where it is held for a predetermined time to also act to cool said cooling ohanbe', and means foiautomatically and inte'nittently (lischarging the accumulatecl water from said tenk after the cooling efiect thereof has been utilizecl to cool said cooling chanber.

2. A 'ef'geratng device conprising a re ceptacle, an ice chanber in said receptacle 'for containing the ice to be used for cooling purposes, a cooling chambe' in said receptaole a tenk assooiateclvith said cooling cham- 381' and arranged to receive the Water produced by the gradual melting of the ice so as to utilize said Water to assist in cooling the cooling chamber, a liqud recever n'ountecl in said tenk in an unbalanced condition adapted to receive said Water, said liquid receiver arranged so that When a predete'nned amount of Water enters it, it Will be automatically tipped to discharge the Water therefron into seid tank, and

means for automatically and inte'mttently clscha'gng Water from said tenk at predeterminecl intervals.

In testimony Whereof, I eflx ture this 3rd day of April 1919.

CHARLES A. PETERSON.

my signa- 

